WWE NXT 2.0 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 8

Kay Lee Ray has gotten what she wants. On the February 8 edition of WWE NXT 2.0, she would challenge NXT women's champion Mandy Rose, hoping to bring some respect back to the title.

This show would also see the two semifinal matchups of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The Creed Brothers have dominated the division, but they were next fighting two-time finalists in the tournament, The Grizzled Young Veterans.

Meanwhile, Malik Blade and Edris Enofe hoped to continue their underdog run against MSK.

Bron Breakker would host a Championship Summit with Santos Escobar ahead of their NXT Vengeance Day clash. And LA Knight has his eyes firmly set on revenge against Grayson Waller, but he first had to take down Waller's giant, Sanga.

Sarray hoped to make Dakota Kai pay for her rude comments toward The Warrior of the Sun and her grandmother, while Tiffany Stratton looked to get her daddy's credit card back from Wendy Choo.

This show had a lot of promise with a card filled out to succeed. With a stellar main event booked, this seemed to be a show to rival next week's NXT Vengeance Day.

While The Creed Brothers dominated early, Grizzled Young Veterans managed to isolate Brutus Creed.

After tossing Zack Gibson aside, though, Brutus finally got the hot tag to Julius Creed, who ran over James Drake. After a huge suicide dive by Drake, GYV hit Doomsday Device for a near-fall.

Liverpool's Number 1 caught Brutus with a vicious throat strike and set him up in the corner. Julius ran up the pile to superplex Drake. Julius hit a side slam followed by a low clothesline from Brutus to take the win.

Result

Creed Brothers def. GYV by pinfall to advance to the finals of the men's Dusty Tag Team Classic.

Grade

A-

Analysis

Grizzled Young Veterans cannot do much wrong as a tag team. It is disappointing that Drake and Gibson will likely never win the Dusty Tag Team Classic, but this was most certainly not their time.

The Creed Brothers looked great and had some fantastic sequences. This was the most complete performance for Brutus and Julius so far. The selling and storytelling on display from both worked wonders.

Of all the members of Diamond Mine, The Creed Brothers are the most important right now. No matter how green the two looked at first, their natural ability has translated quickly to create two exciting competitors for WWE's future.

Wendy Choo and Amari Miller arrived in the arena with bags of fresh clothes after using Tiffany Stratton's black credit card.

It turned the two had bought plenty before the card was cancelled.

While Stratton could not answer Choo's early eccentric offense, she found her second wind after breaking a nail. She ran over her sleepy opponent and hit a Vader Bomb for the victory.

Result

Stratton def. Choo by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Analysis

Stratton is still way behind the curve as an in-ring performer. She is a decent character actor by NXT standards, but her performances feel stunted. She may have been brought to the brand too early.

It does not help to see her defeat Choo, who is a far more seasoned wrestler. While her "sleepy" gimmick does not mean she always has to win, she should not be losing to Stratton unless WWE plans to push Daddy's Little Princess soon, which would be a mistake.

Draco Anthony tried to refocus from his first loss, as Joe Gacy and Harland came to him with a proposition.

Pete Dunne warned Tony D'Angelo that he would suffer next week inside a steel cage. Anthony tried to show respect to The Bruiserweight, who was not interested.

Anthony found some openings against Dunne but got distracted too often. After Dunne dodged a surprise attack from Tony D, The Bruiserweight took the win off the Bitter End.

He then snapped D'Angelo's fingers, grabbed a number of weapons and decided to change their contest into a weaponized steel cage match.

Result

Dunne def. Anthony by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Analysis

Anthony continues to lose. This would not be too bad if he was getting a chance to show what he can do, but he has made zero impact to date. Instead of standing on his own, it looks like he could be strapped with the Gacy storyline, which won't help him.

Dunne vs. D'Angelo should be very good, especially with a big stipulation. When the dust settles, both men need to still look great. It's likely Tony D will pull off another win, especially if Dunne is heading to the main roster soon.

Cora Jade tried to talk up her chances with Raquel Gonzalez in the women's Dusty Tag Team Classic, but Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz interrupted and set a challenge with Big Mami Cool.

LA Knight looked for every opportunity to chop down Sanga. He hit him with a big dropkick and kicked at his knees. Grayson Waller tried to coach his bodyguard from the outside but only seemed to get in the way.

After The Million Dollar Mega Star sent Sanga hard into the steel post, Waller uncovered the turnbuckle. Knight took advantage by sending the big man into the exposed steel followed by a neckbreaker to win.

Waller made clear before leaving that Knight would be arrested next week for breaking his restraining order.

Result

Knight def. Sanga by pinfall.

Grade

C

Analysis

For his first action in a long while, Sanga looked good. He did not have to compromise due to his size and kept up with Knight while the veteran led him through the motions.

It wasn't much of a complete match, but the story worked. The Million Dollar Mega Star survived the big man because Waller got too cocky for his own good.

If this does lead to Knight vs. Waller, it needs to happen with serious build. NXT 2.0 cannot just throw this on a random show.

Duke Hudson gave McKenzie Mitchell a scoop by advising that Dante Chen was not in the building despite promising to call him out.

Bron Breakker wanted to get the fighting started while Santos Escobar slowed him down. He told the NXT champion he was in complete control. However, he was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler.

The Showoff listed his accolades before making clear he wanted the gold he has never had. This brought out Tommaso Ciampa, who was offended by Ziggler claiming the NXT Championship.

Escobar took offense to the interruptions, promising to take out all three men, one after the other.

Ciampa and Ziggler started brawling while Escobar sent Legado del Fantasma after the champ. The stable sent Breakker through the table in the ring before the leader of Legado promised to take the gold he wanted.

Grade

B

Analysis

The arrival of Ziggler in NXT worked way better than expected. While The Showoff may not have done much in the last few years, he is still a name that works well in a fresh environment. He came off as a big deal and threat despite his unfortunate recent record.

The problem here was that Ciampa vs. Ziggler overshadowed Breakker vs. Escobar. While the segment was fun, it was poorly timed. The main event next week was trumped by a contest that has only begun to build.

WWE continues to use established names from Raw in NXT, and it is working. Every star from the red brand feels bigger in NXT 2.0, and it can help reestablish them as top talent while giving NXT stars a rub as well.

Dakota Kai warned Wendy Choo that her new wardrobe would never get her wins.

Inside the ring, Sarray missed the Sun Ray Dropkick early and Kai took advantage. She stomped her in the corner before preparing to end the contest. The Warrior of the Sun fought back, though.

The two traded roll-ups but were unable to take the win. Kai missed the Kaio Kick and found herself in perfect position for the Sun Ray Dropkick and a fisherman's suplex to win.

Afterward, Choo reminded Kai of her comments earlier and told her it's not easy to win in NXT.

Result

Sarray def. Kai by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Analysis

There is no reason this should have been so sloppy, but that has been Sarray's run in NXT to date. She just doesn't seem to have chemistry with many of the women in NXT, which could be a bad sign for what she can do when she reaches the next level.

While the 25-year-old is obviously talented, she must find her comfort zone in the ring.

Kai is still in NXT because she is supposed to help young wrestlers in moments like this. Hopefully, she is not stuck in this role for much longer.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams prepared for the former's match with Cameron Grimes next week with a barber-shop trip. Grimes talked about his upbringing, explaining why he cared about becoming a champion after so long in NXT.

Nikkita Lyons told the world she knew how to fight and promised to show it in NXT. Brooks Jensen tried to ask out Kayden Carter. Instead, he set up another friendship double date to include Josh Briggs and Kacy Catanzaro.

Wes Lee and Nash Carter should have been able to put Malik Blade and Edris Enofe away easily given the gap in experience, but the underdogs fought hard from the outset. After a big suicide dive. Blade and Enofe hit Carter with combination offense into an Enofe frog splash for a near-fall.

Lee got back into the action just in time to set up their finisher for the victory.

Result

MSK def. Blade and Enofe by pinfall to advance to the finals of the men's Dusty Tag Team Classic.

Grade

B

Analysis

It is fun to see the rise of Blade and Enofe as a tag team. They can make a real impact within this division. However, MSK was always going to win here.

Credit to Lee and Carter for letting the underdogs look good for the moment. MSK could have won this quickly without question, but this match helped further establish the future of this surprise team.

MSK vs. The Creed Brothers next week will be a huge contest for both teams. Whatever team does manage to pull out the victory is likely to dethrone Imperium.

Zoey Stark convinced Io Shirai to find a partner for the women's Dusty Tag Team Classic, while Kay Lee Ray promised Mandy Rose she would make the most of the match she always deserved.

Toxic Attraction built some tension between Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta by bringing up Indi's hidden friendship with Duke Hudson. The brawl continued right before the main event where Rose was left without backup.

The brawl started early between the two women, who were as focused on hurting each other as winning. The NXT women's champion hit a big spinebuster for the first near-fall. KLR tried to respond with the KLR Bomb, which Rose reversed into a sunset flip bomb for two.

Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were supposed to be escorted out of the building, but they saved Rose by sending Ray off the top rope to the floor. This allow God's Greatest Creation to hit a bicycle knee for the win.

Toxic Attraction tried to hurt KLR with her own baseball bat before Io Shirai arrived to save the day. Ray laid out Rose with the KLR Bomb and stood tall with The Genius of the Sky.

Result

Rose def. KLR by pinfall to retain NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was about as good a match as Rose has had in NXT 2.0. Sadly, this was not nearly as long as it deserved to be, and the lazy finish distracted from a great opportunity to solidify Rose as champion.

The NXT women's champion keeps skating by without defeating anyone clean. While heels always take short cuts, it would have been interesting if she could have found her own rather than relying on Toxic Attraction, as always.

Shirai and KLR together are a formidable tag team and should be fun to watch in women's Dusty Tag Team Classic. Suddenly, the new favorites have emerged, especially since Shirai and KLR need a big win after taking some recent unfortunate losses.